What a headache. Elizabeth, the Great Demon's daughter, has been here for weeks, and besides eating, sleeping, and having afternoon tea, she hasn't done anything else.
She almost always hides in her room, doing who knows what. Logically, based on the 'personality' she displayed before, she doesn't seem like the type of good girl who would obediently stay in her room!
Or is she brewing some kind of plan? But what can she do if she doesn't leave the house?
I originally thought that Elizabeth was just pretending to hide in her room, and that she had actually run off to play somewhere.
Due to the previous peeping and eavesdropping incident, which injured two excellent Imperial magic casters, peeping was naturally no longer an option.
So it was difficult to determine if she was actually in her room. But every time I deliberately chose a few very tricky times to invite her, she was always waiting in her room!
Although I knew that the princess was a terrifying magic caster, and seemed to be capable of teleportation magic, could she really teleport back from somewhere else in an instant and even change into a gown? Is there really magic in this world that can achieve such a feat?
Then it can only be inferred that she has indeed never left her room, and has never left the Imperial Palace.
To be safe, I also had the Imperial intelligence department infiltrate E-Rantel to investigate the rumors of the Yelantiel Holy Woman. During the attack, many citizens called her the Yelantiel Holy Woman, but she vehemently denied it at the time.
However, given the current situation of the Empire, even a trivial piece of information might become a turning point to save the Empire. I had carefully read the report after the investigation, and afterwards, I only felt that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was too abnormal, or rather, too coincidental.
The rumors of E-Rantel began to circulate when Fulda set me up. And the reports during this period all said that the Holy Woman often went out and only occasionally returned.
The timing also coincided exactly with the time Elizabeth visited the Empire. After the spy who had seen the Holy Woman with his own eyes returned to the country, he also said that the Holy Woman was exactly the same as Elizabeth who was staying in the Imperial Palace, except for her temperament.
Her face, figure, and everything else—just this alone could confirm that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was Elizabeth. From Nazarick's perspective, letting Elizabeth gain popularity in E-Rantel was indeed a good move.
It should have been like this, but! Someone explain this to me! If the Yelantiel Holy Woman is Elizabeth! Then what's the deal with Elizabeth who is staying in her own Imperial Palace every day?!
I even conducted a test! Last week, almost every afternoon, I would invite Elizabeth to stroll in the garden and have afternoon tea.
And just now, the spy who had been investigating this matter in E-Rantel had just rotated back, and the report he gave was that the Yelantiel Holy Woman had been doing good deeds in E-Rantel almost all that week.
Furthermore, the time she was witnessed in E-Rantel coincided with the time I invited Elizabeth to have afternoon tea and stroll in the garden at the Imperial Palace!
In other words! Two Elizabeths appeared at the same time, separated by a vast distance! Therefore, the previous suspicion that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was Elizabeth was completely illogical!
Since that didn't make sense, I shifted my attention to the Black Worker group that had escaped Nazarick with their lives.
After letting them go, I also sent spies to investigate them, but they had completely disappeared a week ago, with the last intel indicating they had gone to E-Rantel to operate.
They were basically doing some mundane quests, until last week, when they vanished as if into thin air, losing all contact. One thing that greatly concerned me was, wasn't that Black Worker group made up of five people?
But the spy's report only mentioned seeing three people operating in E-Rantel, with the other two missing. Then, combining this with the information provided by the spy who investigated the Yelantiel Holy Woman, who said that the Yelantiel Holy Woman had gained a follower, and based on the description, this follower should be another member of the Black Worker group.
So, if all the intelligence and evidence are put together, the Yelantiel Holy Woman should be the one who resembles Elizabeth.
Considering this, it also makes sense why the previous spy would say that the Holy Woman's temperament was different from Elizabeth's. After all, one is an Adventurer... and the other is a princess, so it's not strange for their temperaments to be different.
However, this theory still has quite a few loopholes. Firstly, when the Yelantiel Holy Woman began her activities, Fulda had just pushed me into a difficult situation.
That is to say, why would the famous Yelantiel Holy Woman become a member of a Black Worker group?
This is a very unreasonable point. Furthermore, why did all of them go to E-Rantel after escaping with their lives?
According to the spy's previous investigations, the Four Strategists Squad had always operated within the Empire. Why did they suddenly run off to E-Rantel?
Finally... why did those three disappear? Were they killed during a quest? Or something else? But after those three disappeared, the Yelantiel Holy Woman was still active in E-Rantel, showing no signs of abnormality whatsoever.
If the previous inference that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was the one who resembled Elizabeth was true, then it would be very strange.
The report stated that the Yelantiel Holy Woman was gentle and kind, like an angel. So, would such a person show no reaction after her teammates had been missing for a week?
Therefore, based on this inference, she should know the whereabouts of the three missing individuals, which is why she remains as calm as usual. So the question is, where did those three go?
They disappeared, evading excellent Imperial spies, and there has been no news of them since... This is very abnormal to think about!
Ugh... it seems I've strayed a bit too far. As I said before, every little detail now could be a lifeline to save the Empire, so all information must be carefully scrutinized... After all, my opponent is Ainz Ooal Gown, that terrifyingly wise monster!
Jierunifu, thinking of this, scratched his head in frustration. His golden hair floated down with his agitated scratching, but Jierunifu had no mind for such things.
The first time I faced Ainz Ooal Gown, I was completely crushed by him. Everything was under his control, and I could only be like a puppet on his strings.
Just thinking about this makes me so annoyed... But being annoyed won't help. With the entire military might of the Empire, I probably couldn't even handle that capricious princess, let alone her Great Demon father!
But I haven't lost yet! I still have two cards in my hand: one is the Yelantiel Holy Woman, and the other is Elizabeth herself. If I can use these two cards well, there might still be a turning point! Jierunifu thought to himself.
"Your... Your Majesty!! This is bad! This is bad!!" Just as Jierunifu was still pondering his next move, a servant rushed in frantically.
"What's with all the fuss! What's bad!" Jierunifu said irritably, feeling as if he had experienced this scene somewhere before.
"Your Majesty! Please! Please go outside and see!" the servant said, looking panicked.
"What's happened again!" Jierunifu stood up, annoyed, and walked directly out of the main hall. Hmm? Why did I say 'again'? It seems... I've experienced the same thing twice already?
Jierunifu walked out of the main hall and saw many, many people gathered in the square outside.
Today is an open day, isn't it? It's when the gates of the Royal Capital are opened for commoners to enter the Royal Capital Square for an audience. This is a rule I set to hear suggestions and their grievances from the common people.
But the audience time hasn't arrived yet, has it?
Why did so many people gather all of a sudden?
And what are those people worshiping?
Just as Jierunifu was thinking this, a white light suddenly shone from the center of the square, and at the same time, many magic circles appeared in the center of the white light column. Jierunifu looked closely and saw that it was none other than Elizabeth standing in the white light and magic circles!
This light and magic circle... wasn't this the Ultimate Magic Elizabeth used on the road before?! What is she trying to do?
Just now I said she was obediently staying in her room, so how did she suddenly run to the square to cast Ultimate Magic and receive the admiration of thousands? What's going on?
Jierunifu completely failed to understand everything he saw before him. Although he really wanted to go down and ask her what she was trying to do, he ultimately held back.
Until I know what Ultimate Magic she's casting, and before she finishes casting it, it's probably best not to provoke her, right?
Although I learned the concept of Ultimate Magic from Fulda, the only time I actually saw it was when Elizabeth demonstrated the Sky Transformation, which controls weather changes, on the road.
What Ultimate Magic is Elizabeth going to cast this time? Please don't let it be something world-destroying!
After a moment, the magic circles around Elizabeth disappeared, and just like last time, she raised a hand and shouted loudly.
"Ultimate Magic! Sky Transformation!"
And so, just like last time, a ripple spread across the clear blue sky like a stone dropped into a lake. However, unlike last time, after the ripple spread, dark, oppressive storm clouds appeared out of nowhere in the previously clear sky. The bright sky suddenly darkened, and thunder began to rumble.
Basically, Jierunifu breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. It was still Sky Transformation after all!
It seems she must be praying for rain for the farmers among the common people. Indeed, there hasn't been rain within the Empire for a long time, and I have indeed received reports of drought from various regions.
Now, Elizabeth solved it completely with one Ultimate Magic. This could be considered a good deed Elizabeth did for the Empire, right? Jierunifu thought to himself.
Hmm? Did she do a good deed for the Empire? Looking at the commoners kneeling in the square, prostrating themselves before Elizabeth, Jierunifu suddenly realized that this was not a good deed at all!!
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